The two temples, with photographs of Modi as the presiding deity, are in two different corners of the state — at Bhojpara village near Wakaner, Rajkot district, and at Kakor village in Kakrej taluka of Banaskantha district.

“Our lives have changed due to Modiji and he is a god to the entire community,” says Meerkhan Nath Bamaniya , 42, the village chief of Bhojpara, a hamlet inhabited by about 200 Vadee families.

“He gave us houses, electricity, water, and school for our children; he is our god,” adds another villager Devnath, 45.

The indebted community started worshipping Modi as a household deity about three years ago.

With their god coming back to power for a third time in the state, the inhabitants of Bhojpara have decided to build a big temple for the “Hinduva Peer”.

Says Bamaniya: “We are very poor people. But we will collect the money somehow to build this temple.” Last week they organised a community feast in front of the temple to celebrate the victory.

Thursday is the day of the “Hinduva Peer”. People from surrounding villages come to Bhojpara every Thursday for thanksgiving by offering coconuts, perfume bottles and incense sticks at the Modi temple. “You make any wish at this temple and it is fulfilled,” says Dadunath.

As the reputation of the temple has spread in the surrounding villages, people from other communities, apart from Vadees, have started thronging the temple. Haribhai, a mason, is one such satisfied villager. “I was very sick. I prayed here and got well. I now earn enough to buy a moped recently,” says Haribhai.

In North Gujarat, too, the community has started worshipping Modi as a deity. “We worship Modiji as a household deity,” said Gamerbhai, a Vadee, who is a member of Radhanpur taluka Panchayat, in Patan district.

The Vadees, among the most impoverished of nomadic tribes, were in dire straits after keeping snakes became a legal offence. The state government has settled about 250 families at Radhanpur, 200 at Kakor and 110 at Bhojpara.

At Bhojpara, the Vadees are excited that they have got not only houses, which are still under construction, but also 24-hour electricity under the government’s “Jyotirgram” scheme and six-hour supply of water through a pipeline. “Do you get six hours of supply water in Ahmedabad,” exclaims a visibly pleased Bamaniya.

The village has a school now, which boasts of six computers and 110 students. “Every morning before the start of the school the students pray to Hinduva Peer,” informs Devnath. The Modi temple is in front of the school.

The Vadees have traditionally worshipped three “peers” — Rama Peer, Gigada Peer and Parab Peer. Pointing towards the vermilion-smeared stone slab, which is supposed to be an idol of Modi, Bamaniya says: “Now, we have added a fourth one, whom we worship as Hinduva Peer.”

“Being nomadic, these people never had a permanent home,” explains the BJP MLA from Radhanpur, Shanker Choudhary. “The state government has helped them to settle down and gave each family a concrete house and as a result, the community now worships Modi as a household deity,” he adds.